ATAFBS Chapter 12

After the wheelchair rolled down the last step, it switched into its regular walking mode.

They were once again shrouded in silence.

Yu Juan frowned slightly when he realised that Zhou Huiyue was right.

Yu Juan hadn’t planned on staying for too long when he came here, so he didn’t bring enough clothes with him. It was then that he remembered finding brand-new, still unpacked clothes in the storeroom. They were obviously prepared for Zhou Huiyue by Sun Qibai, who clearly couldn’t be bothered to pick out different styles considering how identical the clothes were down to the very color.

There was never an instance where Yu Juan had to take other people’s things since he grew up having everything he wanted, which meant this was the first time. According to logic and reason, he should’ve had a guilty conscience after being found out.

But Yu Juan didn’t. Instead, he turned his head to look at Zhou Huiyue and asked back, “Can I not wear it?”

It was as if clothes that had never been worn before didn’t belong to one person only. They might have been Zhou Huiyue’s originally, but they could also be his.

Like at this moment.

Zhou Huiyue didn’t even raise his head and continued to stare at the lower hem that was being blown by the wind– it made Yu Juan’s figure appear even more slender. He said, “It’s not that you can’t.”

After a pause, he explained, “The shirt’s too big, so it might get in the way when you’re riding the bike.”

Even though Yu Juan still hadn’t learned how to ride a bike, he felt that such a small issue wouldn’t really affect his ability.

At present—

As a result, after thinking for a bit, Yu Juan asked, “Do you know how to ride a bike?”

Zhou Huiyue nodded before asking nonchalantly, “Do you not?”

This was actually something that didn’t need to be asked since Zhou Huiyue could guess as much, but he still asked anyway.

Yu Juan walked over to the mountain bike that was placed in the corner, then gripped the handles and pushed it until he was in front of Zhou Huiyue.

He looked at the bike’s bright orange paint and said, “I don’t.”

Yu Juan continued in a really light voice, “I never rode when I was a kid. My….my family, they were really worried I’d fall over and get hurt.”

He was like those really fragile and vulnerable children growing up, being born prematurely and having his parents pass away at a young age. As such, his grandparents inevitably became even more protective for fear that he would get hurt.

When Zhou Huiyue heard that, he felt that Yu Juan’s family must have indeed really doted on him for him to have such a character.

Arrogant, naïve, unwilling to admit defeat. Yu Juan did things without any scruples, as if he didn’t care about the consequences at all.

Yu Juan was still stuck in his memories. “It’s not like I was that well-behaved back then, though. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t see a bike. If I did, it was very likely that I would’ve also tried it out.”

Just like how he had tried to climb a tree in the garden. He then got startled by a beetle that was lying on the trunk of the tree, almost losing his grip and falling off– it made his grandparents frightened beyond belief.

All Zhou Huiyue did was listen.

Yu Juan woke up from his trance and realised that he had spoken too much. However, he had actually never talked about these things with anyone else.

It wasn’t like it mattered, though. Zhou Huiyue didn’t know the Yu Juan in the novel well, and neither did Yu Juan know himself.

It would be best to practise bike riding in an open and spacious area, but Zhou Huiyue couldn’t go out due to the surveillance camera there and with how sunny it was outside. Fortunately, the furniture in the living room had already been tidied up and placed aside, so there was an empty space that could be used– though just barely.

The tip was to just not be scared of falling. He’ll be able to learn after falling a few times.

Yu Juan had never been timid and afraid of falling since he was a child. Later, when he grew a bit more sensible, he very rarely tried out things that could be dangerous– though it was mainly because he didn’t want to make his grandparents worried.

After transmigrating and being forced into a terminally ill body, Yu Juan thought more than once that, fortunately, he had already visited the graves of his grandparents a few times after his college entrance exams, so he didn’t have as many regrets.

Yu Juan was slightly absent-minded. He then stopped thinking about those things of the past and concentrated on learning how to ride instead.

After falling a few times, Yu Juan was getting the hang of it.

As long as one had a sense of balance, it should be really easy to learn how to ride a bike– it was just like a toddler learning how to walk instinctively.

It didn’t mean there was no danger, since he could make any kind of mistake during the process, especially when he wasn’t that skilled and couldn’t control it completely due to having no experience and muscle memory.

Zhou Huiyue followed behind, not too far but also not too close, watching Yu Juan’s back.

Yu Juan’s riding was shaky and wobbly, and his pedalling speed really slow, as he went around in circles in the large living room.

The accident happened very abruptly.

The handlebar was somewhat out of control, shifting outwards. It should’ve originally been a minor issue that could just be solved by tightening his grip on it again.

But the place where he lost control was just very unfortunate. In the blink of an eye, the wheel hit the corner of the stairs. Yu Juan should’ve stopped urgently, but there wasn’t enough time for him to react.

Falling on flat ground once wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was different if it was near the stairs since it’d be very easy to knock against a sharp corner.

Yu Juan had no other choice but to try his best to identify in which direction he’d fall off and protect himself.

Amidst the chaos, someone grabbed Yu Juan’s arm with great strength and pulled him away from the bike that was going to topple over, making his wrist hurt slightly as he fell in the other direction.

Instead of falling on the stairs, he fell into someone’s embrace.

There was only one person other than himself here.

Yu Juan could see Zhou Huiyue next to him as he turned his head, the distance between them so close that he could smell the bitter smell of medicine on the other’s body.

Since Zhou Huiyue didn’t have the strength to support himself with his legs, he had to prop his upper body against the wall using his hand– though it was dragged down by a few centimetres without him being aware of it.

He lifted his head and asked, “Yu Juan, are you able to stand firm?”

It took Yu Juan a few seconds to answer from how stunned he was, “Mhm.”

This time was different compared to when he was drunk– Yu Juan was currently sober, and he could very clearly sense just how strong Zhou Huiyue was.

Even though the other was still recuperating.

Only after Zhou Huiyue made sure Yu Juan could indeed stand did he let go.

Yu Juan didn’t have time to think about anything else during the time he almost fell, so it was only now that he realised the hem of his shirt had been caught by the handrail. He could feel Zhou Huiyue’s fingertips brush against his lower back when the latter moved his arm away– they were really cool, a sharp contrast to the scorching heat of summer.

Perhaps it was the cold sensation, or perhaps it was Zhou Huiyue’s touch, but Yu Juan felt himself shiver slightly.

Zhou Huiyue relaxed and withdrew the hand he had propped on the wall, placing it on the wheelchair’s armrest instead, with a really faint “tick tock” sound nearby.

It was really easy for it to go unnoticed if one wasn’t paying attention.

Yu Juan followed the sound and looked over– the wallpaper had been peeled off, revealing the rough cement underneath that had an inexplicable red stain on it.

What was that?

Yu Juan immediately reacted and reached out for Zhou Huiyue’s wrist, then found out that the other’s palm had been grazed and had a large cut on it that was bleeding.

Judging by how Zhou Huiyue was still as calm as ever, it was as if he hadn’t planned on letting Yu Juan find out.

Yu Juan pursed his lips tightly as he held Zhou Huiyue’s hand and looked at the wound, feeling a bit overwhelmed– he was the reason Zhou Huiyue got hurt.

In fact, he didn’t notice earlier because he was thinking too much. It didn’t seem like the storeroom had any gauze, so Yu Juan had to search for a clean and tidy cloth to stop the bleeding.

The blood flowing on the pale skin was a really vibrant red color, making him dizzy.

Zhou Huiyue raised his hand– the one that didn’t get injured, and covered Yu Juan’s eyes. “Stop looking.”

Yu Juan seemed to have been frightened and blinked rapidly a few times, his especially long eyelashes fluttering against Zhou Huiyue’s palm. Zhou Huiyue felt the lingering itch even more than the pain in his left hand.

Zhou Huiyue didn’t reveal anything and said lightly, “It’s just a scratch.”

Yu Juan was a little bit confused. “Why?”

Zhou Huiyue replied, “Yu Juan, you don’t have any scars on your body. It’ll really be a pity if that were to change.”

The reason he gave was very simple, very natural. Since he already had a lot of scars, getting one more wouldn’t matter.

Yu Juan blinked slowly, “That’s not true.”

He then turned his head away without looking at Zhou Huiyue’s hand and said, “You…I’ll go bring something.”

Yu Juan went upstairs and found a shirt that had just been washed clean, then cut a strip from it.

Zhou Huiyue took the strip of cloth from Yu Juan, then casually rubbed it on his hand. In fact, he had medicine and gauze in his room, but he didn’t get the opportunity to tell Yu Juan.

Perhaps it was because Yu Juan rarely saw injuries, or perhaps it was more because Zhou Huiyue had gotten injured for his sake, but Yu Juan didn’t feel guilty. Rather, it was more like he had experienced the ordeal himself. His fingers curled up when he saw the cloth being used to wipe the blood– he would’ve much preferred if he was the one who had gotten hurt instead.

Yu Juan was sitting on the stairs, so he raised his head and asked in a slightly quivering voice, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Zhou Huiyue moved quite skillfully. He didn’t act like how the average person would when they get injured.

There was hardly any change in Zhou Huiyue’s expression. Up to this day, Yu Juan was still unable to understand this person.

Zhou Huiyue was trapped here, yet his eyes had always been calm without any fluctuations to the point that Yu Juan would often wonder just what could make him have some kind of reaction. It was likely because he was already at the lowest point of his life, and there was nothing good happening at all.

Maybe that was why he was calm, listless. The first time they met, Yu Juan had almost believed that Zhou Huiyue only chose to stay here because he was on the verge of death.

But now, there was more of a comforting kind of gentleness to him.

Zhou Huiyue said, “It’ll get better in no time.”

As the one who was protected, Yu Juan felt his breath hitch as his heart skipped a beat.

After the simple treatment, the two went upstairs to Zhou Huiyue’s room together.

In fact, Yu Juan almost never came here. To begin with, he didn’t like going to other people’s rooms since it felt like prying on their privacy. Then there was the issue with the window in Zhou Huiyue’s room. It was missing half of the glass, so it inevitably reminded Yu Juan of unpleasant memories.

But the current situation was different, Yu Juan didn’t think about these things at all when he walked in this time.

After pushing the door open, Yu Juan thought about fetching a basin of water instead.

After taking out some gauze from the drawer, Zhou Huiyue saw Yu Juan push open the door and turn on the tap.

Yu Juan hated bugs, didn’t want to come to this room, and felt faint at the sight of blood. Yet, the same Yu Juan walked in here, filled up a basin of water, and wanted to dress Zhou Huiyue’s wound.

It might sound really contradictory, or even illogical, but it was the actual truth.

Under the sunlight, the water in the porcelain basin rippled when Yu Juan put his hands into it.

As luck would have it, a cicada flew in from the window and landed on the table. Zhou Huiyue stretched out his hand and covered that bug, pining it down with his palm, not wanting Yu Juan to see it.

After soaking the gauze, Yu Juan spread out Zhou Huiyue’s hand and slowly wiped off the dried blood.

For some reason– perhaps it was the serious and focused expression on Yu Juan’s face, a look Zhou Huiyue had never seen on him before, but his fingers kept on moving. This unintentionally resulted in him getting in Yu Juan’s way.

Once, twice, then thrice.

Yu Juan lifted his head, slightly troubled. Compared to the past where he would’ve already gotten angry, however, he merely said, “Stop messing around.”

It seemed that, since he rarely dealt with such a kind of situation, he also had no way to deal with people being difficult.

Zhou Huiyue smiled nonchalantly, “Am I?”

Yu Juan began to feel doubtful again. He didn’t believe Zhou Huiyue was that childish. Perhaps what had just happened was just a misconception on his part.

After dressing the wound, Yu Juan took another look around and found that the glass bottle containing the candies was lacking a bit less than half of its content.